Which District of Columbia accounting program has the lowest debt?

Georgetown University reports the lowest median federal debt, $17,500, with first-year pay of $89,564.

How much do accounting graduates earn in District of Columbia?

The median across 5 District of Columbia accounting bachelor's programs is $69,151 in the first year after graduating and $99,257 five years after.

How many accounting bachelor's programs are in District of Columbia?

5 District of Columbia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Accounting (Bachelor's) Programs in District of Columbia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

5 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Accounting and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median District of Columbia accounting bachelor's program pays its graduates $69,151 in their first year, $15,092 more than the national median. Georgetown University reports the highest first-year pay ($89,564), and Georgetown University the lowest median debt ($17,500).

Median first-year pay$69,151National $54,059

Median pay after 5 years$99,257National $71,308

Median federal debt$25,725National $24,958

Debt-to-earnings37%National 45%

All 5 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Georgetown UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$89,564	$165,279	$17,500	20%
2	Catholic University of AmericaWashington · private nonprofit	$69,915	$97,224	$25,725	37%
3	George Washington UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$69,151	$101,290	$24,875	36%
4	University of the District of ColumbiaWashington · public	$61,610	Not reported	$32,160	52%
5	Strayer University-District of ColumbiaWashington · private for-profit	$52,373	$59,529	$54,989	105%

Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia accounting program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the District of Columbia medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Georgetown University$89,564
Catholic University of America$69,915
George Washington University$69,151
University of the District of Columbia$61,610
Strayer University-District of Columbia$52,373

Lowest median debt

Georgetown University$17,500
George Washington University$24,875
Catholic University of America$25,725
University of the District of Columbia$32,160
Strayer University-District of Columbia$54,989

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to accounting, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Accountants and Auditors

$111,530

Median pay in District of Columbia. 9,810 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 115,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $71,470Top 10%: $185,220

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

$65,180

Median pay in District of Columbia. 1,790 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 144,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,140Top 10%: $94,320

Financial Managers

$188,880

Median pay in District of Columbia. 8,930 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 65,600 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $130,880Top 10%: $349,420

Financial and Investment Analysts

$105,780

Median pay in District of Columbia. 3,670 people work in this job in District of Columbia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $67,620Top 10%: $207,330

Common questions

Georgetown University in Washington reports the highest median first-year pay, $89,564. Its median federal debt is $17,500.

Accounting (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked636 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of District of Columbia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the accounting bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024